Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 114
Allegheny County to test water at Human Services building for Legionella bacteria
The Allegheny County Health Department will test the water at the county’s Department of Human Services building for Legionella bacteria after an employee tested positive for Legionnaries’ disease. The Department of Human Services is on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh. In a statement to the Trib’s news partner, WPXI-TV, Allegheny County...
Waterline break prompts early dismissal at Highlands High School
Highlands High School dismissed students early Monday because of a waterline break outside the school. The high school closed at 11 a.m., according to a recorded phone call the district sent out to parents. School and district officials could not be reached for comment and did not respond to requests...
Crash on Route 28 snarls early-morning commute
A crash with multiple vehicles snarled traffic on inbound Route 28 on Monday morning, backing up traffic considerably just before the heart of rush hour. Several vehicles were involved in the crash near the former site of St. Nicholas Church between the 31st Street Bridge and East Ohio Street. The...
Pittsburgh gas prices down as national average starts seasonal rise, analyst says
While the national average price of gasoline has gone up for the second consecutive week, prices are lower in the Pittsburgh area, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. The national average went up 2.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.47. In the Pittsburgh area, prices came down by...
Once the cradle of basic industry, the Alle-Kiski Valley diversifies as it looks forward
Kalmar Chevrolet in Gilpin has weathered many changes since Rudy Kalmar, the son of Czechoslovakian immigrants, founded his family’s car dealership selling Hudsons in 1937. It’s been handed down through generations of the family, rolled with changes in the auto industry, and persisted through the changing fates and fortunes of...
Arnold clerk Bellavia named city administrator
Arnold has a new city administrator, but not a new employee. Mario Bellavia, who was hired as city clerk in 2018 — the same year council eliminated the administrator’s position — has been appointed city administrator. Council on Tuesday unanimously approved establishing the authority, powers, duties and responsibilities of the...
Arnold approves ordinance allowing backyard fires — with a permit, under certain rules
Arnold Council has approved an ordinance allowing and regulating burning in the city. Under the ordinance, fires at residences must be in a container no more than 3 feet in diameter and at least 2 feet tall. Containers for fires must be at least 15 feet from structures. Open fires...
Highlands appealing Heights Plaza assessment reduction
Highlands School District is appealing an assessment reduction that slashed nearly $11 million from the value of Heights Plaza in Harrison. If it stands, the change in value of four parcels making up the plaza, from $17.3 million to $6.6 million, would cost the school district $260,000 in revenue each...
Scholarship enables Highlands students to learn from artists around the world
Teresa Emeloff’s classroom at Highlands High School is a factory of creativity. Her art room is adorned from floor to ceiling in the work of her students, including graduates who have left their mark — some quite literally, as handprints on the wall. “I’m super passionate about the arts,” said...
Flu deaths climb to 47 in Pennsylvania this season
The flu contributed to another seven deaths in the past week of a flu season that shows no signs of letting up, according to data the state Department of Health released Tuesday. Through Saturday, 47 flu-associated deaths had been reported this flu season, up from 40 the week before. It’s...
Highlands ‘reflection room’ showing early success, administrators report
An experiment to turn discipline into a learning opportunity is having some early success in the Highlands School District, according to administrators. Samantha Perlik, principal of Highlands Early Childhood Center and former elementary school principal, and middle school Principal Kimberly Price gave a presentation to the school board Monday on...
Pittsburgh gas prices steady as coronavirus fears put ‘choke-hold’ on oil prices, analyst says
While fears over the coronavirus contributed to another drop in the national average price of gasoline, prices in the Pittsburgh area remained unchanged, according to the price-tracking service GasBuddy. Coronavirus fears have put a choke-hold on oil prices, leading to the fourth straight weekly decline in the national average, said...
Arnold boy’s November shooting death was accident, medical examiner rules
A 15-year-boy died after accidentally shooting himself at a Harrison residence in November, according to a ruling issued Monday by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Machi Douthett was pronounced dead at 8:50 p.m. Nov. 10 at a house on Spruce Street, the medical examiner’s office said. An obituary for...
Former Tarentum bar to become banquet hall, event space
John Supik had the name and the building; William Norrick had the vision and the drive. Norrick, 37, of Brackenridge saw banners for The Gathering Place outside the shuttered Ziggy’s Lounge on East Sixth Avenue in Tarentum. Supik, who ran the bar and owns the building, home to the 13-room...
New Kensington police shooting prompts churches to change service locations
Two New Kensington churches are changing the locations of some services in the wake of an incident where city police officers were shot at near one of the churches. The changes affect St. Joseph and St. Mary of Czestochowa. It also affects the Community Clothes Closet run by Mount St....
Organizers of grassroots revitalization effort in Highlands’ towns encouraged by start
Elected officials and others were encouraged by the discussion that took place at a recent grassroots meeting organized online to talk about how to make three Alle-Kiski Valley communities better places to live. The gathering to talk about improving Tarentum, Brackenridge and Harrison was held Saturday at Dry Bones, a...
Community Library sets closing date for Tarentum branch
The Tarentum branch of Community Library of Allegheny Valley will be closed by the end of the month. The library, on Lock Street, will close to the public at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, library Director Kathy Firestone said. Books and furnishings will be sold at the library March 19-21....
Tarentum ‘Depot’ projects gets state grant for basement, foundation workVideo
Work to deepen the basement of a Tarentum building to house a laundromat is expected to begin this summer. Faith Community Partners received a nearly $211,000 state grant that will pay for half the cost of the work at the Fifth Avenue building being called The Depot, said its executive...
New Kensington man arrested in connection with Valley Royal Court shooting in December
A New Kensington man charged with four counts of attempted homicide in connection with shots that were fired at an occupied car in December in New Kensington has been arrested. Letresse Tareke Williams, 29, was arrested late Tuesday night or early Wednesday by the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Warrant Team and...
Allegheny County records 2 more flu-related deaths
Two more Allegheny County residents have died from flu complications, bringing the county’s total flu-associated deaths this season to seven, the Allegheny County Health Department said Wednesday. Department spokesman Ryan Scarpino said one of the residents was in their 60s, while the other was in their 40s. The Health Department...
Tarentum approves 2-year contract with borough manager
Tarentum Council unanimously approved a new contract with Borough Manager Michael Nestico. The agreement council accepted Tuesday will keep Nestico for two more years, until Dec. 31, 2021. For 2020, Nestico’s salary was increased by 3.5%, from $82,000 to $84,870. That increase is in line with that of other borough...
Civil claims against owner of Harrison’s Heights Plaza exceed $700K
Civil claims totaling more than $700,000 have been filed against the owner of Heights Plaza in Harrison. Pretium Property Management, the plaza’s court-appointed receiver, claimed in a civil complaint filed last month that Wild Blue Management, Indigo Management and Steve Kogut, all of Far Hills, N.J., fraudulently transferred nearly $650,000...
Pennsylvania flu deaths increase by 7, cases up 24%
Pennsylvania recorded another increase in flu-associated deaths in a season that has hit Southwestern Pennsylvania particularly hard. As of the week ending Feb. 1, flu-associated deaths increased by seven for a total of 40 this flu season, according to data released Tuesday by the state Department of Health. Most of...
New Kensington approves leasing 2 new police SUVs
The New Kensington Police Department will soon have two new vehicles on the road. City Council on Monday approved leasing two vehicles for four years for about $67,500. The city received a $50,000 state grant to help cover the cost. The vehicles will be 2020 Ford Explorer SUVs, police Chief...
Gasoline prices dip below $2 per gallon in spots as oil prices continue to sag
While not the case in the Pittsburgh area, nearly 5,000 stations across the United States are selling gasoline for less than $2 per gallon, according to price tracking service GasBuddy. “Oil prices continue to sag on worries over the spread of the coronavirus, blowing the door wide open for a...
